January 27, 2020

Cherry Oat Bars

Food, Summer, Winter

By Bekah

2 Comments

brown sugar, cherries, cherry, cherry oat bars, dessert, desserts, walnuts

cherry oat bars on a cutting board on a table

One of my favorite spring and summer activities is visiting the many orchards and farms near us and picking fresh fruit (and, of course, eating it too!). There’s a certain nostalgia to it, and I find it especially fun now that we have a kiddo who finds such joy in it. But something I especially love is having fruit to freeze for the cold winter months when fruit just isn’t in season.

For me, cherries are one of those fruits. Like many fruits, they can get a bit “soggy” once frozen and thawed, but there’s still so many ways to use them. One of my favorites is in these cherry oat bars. This is a family recipe, and we’ve used it for many different kinds of fruit – most often rhubarb. It’s one of those easy recipes that can be tailored to just about any fruit you like though. I find that it works especially well with stone fruits.

Making these Cherry Oat Bars – A Few Details

My recipe calls for an oatmeal nut mixture. While you can use both old fashioned or quick oats, I recommend using old fashioned as it gives it a slightly heartier texture which compliments the softness of the baked fruit.
I’ve used walnuts in this recipe, but you can substitute your favorite nuts or simply leave them out. Pecans would be my other favorite go-to depending on what fruit I’m using.
My family has traditionally used this recipe with spring rhubarb. If you choose to use rhubarb, you will bring 3 cups of chopped rhubarb to a boil in 1 cup of water with 1 tsp vanilla. Cook and stir the rhubarb for approximately 5 minutes or until thick. Add a small quantity of sugar if desired for sweetness. Then spoon the mixture over the oat crust and proceed as directed.
Finally, if you want to make this recipe vegan, all that needs to be substituted is a vegan butter. I’ve made this recipe using these Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks and had equally delicious results.

Print Recipe

Cherry Oat Bars

Try these cherry oat bars for a sweet and slightly tart treat or snack that is a tasty variation on traditional cherry pie. Oatmeal, brown sugar and walnuts are the perfect compliment to sweet or tart cherries. You can also substitute your favorite summer stone fruits.

Prep 15

Cook 30

Total 45

Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
3 cups cherries (fresh or frozen)
3/4 cup sugar (or more depending on desired level of sweetness)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, nuts, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Cube the butter and add to flour mixture using a food processor to cut in the butter until crumbly (can also be done by hand). Press in 2 ½ cups into a 9×13” pan. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the cherries, sugar and vanilla extract until cherries are well coated with sugar. Please note that if using frozen cherries, it’s best to let them come to room temperature and drain the juices as additional juices will result in a longer cooking time. Spread the cherries over the oat mixture. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top of cherries. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until edges of top of bars becomes golden brown.
This recipe can be adapted to use a variety of fruits with sugar quantity adjusted as needed based on the fruits’ sweetness. Cooking time may also very slightly depending on the moisture content of what fruit you choose.